Stacy Horn

On July 23rd at 8pm I’m going to be giving a presentation about the History and Science of Group Singing at the Observatory in Brooklyn ($5 admission). I’ve been working very hard collecting photographs and putting together choice facts and stories, so please come see me! It’s a very interesting place so I’d come a little early so you can look around and explore before the presentation.

Someone uploaded screenshots from Virtual Choir 4 to Facebook and miracle of miracles, I found myself. I am third from the left, top row.

I was so anxious about my radio appearances today I swam a mile in the evening, all in an effort to exhaust myself. Now I feel like swimming another mile to decompress.

The picture below was my view from my first interview on WPR’s show 45 North with guest host Cynthia Schuster. I was nervous about that one because I was going to be on for a FULL HOUR. But Cynthia kept things moving, and helped me make all the points I wanted to make, and as usual, I loved the callers.

After that I walked over to a different studio on the same floor to talk to the always wonderful Brian Lehrer. I think we’re all in agreement that Brian Lehrer is the most gifted interviewer and I’m not just saying that because he was kind enough to let me on his show (although I would do something like that except he really is that good and you all know it’s true!).

Damnit. I meant to thank him for getting me through Hurricane Sandy. I bought a battery operated radio after 9/11 and that radio and Brian Lehrer kept me emotionally alive. We were without power for a week and I curled up and listened to Brian and his callers and felt so much calmer. I would have felt so alone and cut-off otherwise.

UPDATE: Here it is. Once again, too impossible to find myself, and that’s not the point really (it would be fun though!).

Below is a screenshot from my Virtual Choir 4 submission. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Virtual Choir, it was created by composer Eric Whitacre. “The Virtual Choir began in May 2009 as a simple experiment in social media when Britlin Losee – a fan of Eric’s music – recorded a video of herself singing ‘Sleep’ and shared it on YouTube.” Whitacre invited others to do the same, and the videos were edited into a choir. It has since become something Whitacre does regularly and the 4th one debuts today.

I was in the last one and I’ll be in this one too, although I never found my face in the last one. I must admit I didn’t try very hard. It was too much work, there were 2,945 people in Virtual Choir 3! And there are 5,903 in Virtual Choir 4, so we shall see if I can spot myself this time. But this is what I looked like (beautiful earrings by Nora Brown of Ontario). I decided to sing the soprano 2 part. People who have already read my book will appreciate that.

Oh, I should post my behind-the-scenes setup for my video submission. Please scroll down …

In the video you see me singing in front of a blanket (we were asked to have uncluttered backgrounds). Out of camera reach you see the real story—my desperate attempts to look my best.

In any case, I’m dying to see the result!! It debuts at the celebration of the Queen’s coronation, so the UK is seeing it first. I’ll post a link to it as soon as it appears online.

I love when friends send pictures of my book and I particularly love this one, sent by a friend who gave my book to a friend of his who is also a choral singer. How can you not love this smiling face?

If anyone who reads this could please do me this favor—if you go into a Barnes & Noble and they don’t have my book, please say something! Which brings me to my Barnes & Noble story.

Years ago I was hired to pick authors for a tv show that was being developed for Barnes & Noble’s website. Steve Riggio, then the president of B&N, interviewed me. For some god forsaken reason I decided it would be a good idea to sing to him at my interview. Insane. I cringe at the memory.

Seconds after I started my mind was screaming, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?? But at that point what could I do? I had to finish the song. The thing is, he hired me! The whole incident is particularly shocking to me because I believe I have a very so-so voice and even though I sing all the time I go out of my way to make sure no one can hear me. It’s the great thing about singing in a choir. You get all the joys and benefits of singing without feeling exposed about it.

Please excuse the “by Stacy Horn” thing. I’m experimenting with a Google search tip. So yesterday I was in the NPR New York studios for an interview on the show Airtalk with Larry Mantle (thank you Airtalk and Larry!!). I discovered long ago that even though you’ve spent years researching and writing about a subject, and your every waking moment has been dedicated to thinking about this subject, when you put on those headphones and someone asks, “So tell me about your book,” your mind sometimes goes:

“I wrote a book. Right. Well, what about it? Where to begin. Oh God. There’s so much to say. Pick one. [Blank] Just one point. [Blank.] Think. [No.]” And so on.

Now I always bring notes. Usually I just need to glance down to pick a direction for my answer, sometimes I’ll read a quote I like. Here’s what that looks like.

This is Bryant Park behind the main branch of the New York Public Library. It’s across the street from the NPR studios and I passed through it on my way to my interview. Such a lovely place (thank you Dan Biederman and the Grand Central Partnership, who restored it).